FULL House GOP Leadership Press Conference Speaker Mike Johnson Speaks in Washington AC15

Well, good morning everybody. This week is National Police Week and the House Republicans are making something very, very clear. We back the blue. Not just with words, but with actions. Because while too many Democrats demonize police officers, excuse violent criminals, and side with chaos, Republicans are standing with the men and women who put the badge on and walk towards danger every single day. And this week we're bringing bills to the floor to support law enforcement and actually help keep your communities safe. Let's remember what this week is really about. It's about people. It's about families. And it's about heroes like Deputy Sheriff Brad Reckling from my district, my hometown. Deputy Reckling from my hometown in Michigan, Romeo, Michigan, was a nine-year veteran of Oakland County. In 2024, Officer Reckling was ambushed and murdered in the line of duty, leaving behind a wife and three young children with one more on the way. Deputy Reckling stood between violent criminals and innocent people to do what he loved and make sure that your communities were safer. And he is exactly why we need to continue to back the blue. Earlier this week, I also saw firsthand sacrifices that our police officers and their families make every single day. I had the opportunity to do a ride-along with the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, and I spent time with Deputy Mielke, who has served in law enforcement for more than 20 years. He finally reached a point in his career after 20 years that he could go on days and actually participate and coach in his children's sporting events and be present for his family every single day. We talked about House Republicans' push for no tax on overtime in the working families tax cut, and he told me directly what a difference that that has made for not just him but the other law enforcement agents that he works with and the morale in his department. Because of these officers, they're able to be more supportive and they're able to bring more money home to their families when they put their life on the line every single day. And when they put in extra hours to protect communities, they deserve to keep more of that money. At least that's what Republicans say and think. Because as I say every single week, every single Democrat voted to raise your taxes. Every single Democrat believes that the government is a better steward of your money than Officer Mielke. But here's what stuck with me most from speaking with Officer Mielke. His wife still worries every single day when he puts on that uniform and goes to work. Think about it. After 20 years of service, the fear and uncertainty never fully goes away. And yet, instead of gratitude, too many on the left continue vilifying the very people who stand between us and chaos. These are the men and women who put on the badge and want to keep your community safe, and the left is vilifying them. Our law enforcement officers step into dangerous situations so innocent people don't have to. And they do it knowingly that they may not make it home that evening. We owe it to Deputy Reckling's widow. We owe it to every single police officer's family, wondering if their loved one will make it home safely at the end of their shift. And frankly, we owe it to the American people. Because when communities are safer, businesses thrive. Businesses don't leave. Neighborhoods don't collapse, and neighborhoods thrive when communities are safer. Here's the truth. Public safety matters. Law enforcement matters. Law and order matters. And it's the brave men and women who make law enforcement possible. So this week, House Republicans are proud to honor our law enforcement agents. And we're proud to say we support the men and women in law enforcement, and we back you. With that, I'm honored to turn it over to a man who's worn the badge before, and that is Mike Ezell. Let me get my box. Thank you, Lisa and Mr. Speaker and Mr. Leader and Tom for having me today. You know, I wore the badge for over 40 years. I was a sheriff. I was a chief of police. I was a patrolman. I was a man that followed in my dad's own footsteps. And I thank God for the opportunity that I had to live a life of honor as serving the citizens of my county, Jackson County, Mississippi. What I like to remind everybody is that law enforcement officers are the ones that are out there at two o'clock in the morning in the middle of a storm or a hurricane or whatever answering the call, while everyone else is at home, nice, safely tucked in their beds. We're the ones that go running into the fire to help the firemen. We're the ones that go running into the homicide shootout, where there are very dangerous people there at all times. It's been an honor to serve. I have served in every capacity, being assigned to the FBI's Safe Streets Task Force for many years, dismantling drug cartels, which this Trump administration is fighting on a daily basis, along with the Republican members of Congress. I thank God for the opportunity now to support my fellow brother law enforcement officers as a member of Congress. And I like to say this, help is on the way, guys. And we are here to serve you this year for the rest of our time in Congress. As long as we have the badge, we're going to continue to do what's best for you and your families. I want everybody to remember that this is Police Week. Everybody needs the police. Everybody calls the police at various times. And I'm very thankful to have served my entire life as a law enforcement officer. And I'm very grateful to be here today. And thank you very much. Thank you, Mike. Thanks for your service, too. From sheriffs to deputies in Wright County, Minnesota, to Capitol Police officers right here in Washington, D.C., this National Police Week, we owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the men and women who keep our communities safe. House Republicans will always back the blue, Lisa's right. Meanwhile, Democrats continue their efforts to defund the police and return to the soft on crime anti law enforcement chaos of the Biden administration in blue states and blue cities across this country. The danger of Democrats pro criminal policies has been put on full display just last week in New York. A an innocent 76 year old retired teacher was pushed down the subway stairs and killed by a criminal who had already been arrested four times this year alone. And how could anyone forget the innocent young woman who was violently stabbed in the throat on a train in North Carolina by a man with 14 prior arrests, releasing violent criminals back into our communities, jeopardizes public safety, demoralizes police officers and makes the job of law enforcement even more dangerous than it already is. But it's not just Democrat policies that risk the safety of our men and women in blue. It's their anti police rhetoric. Look no further than my state's sorry, sorry excuse for a governor, Tim Walls, who he actually called federal law enforcement, the modern day Gestapo. Only months after Walls statement, one of these officers was dragged by a car and severely injured. Crime, chaos, and catastrophe are the reliable results of Democrat leadership. In contrast to this, Republicans are building on our work to support law enforcement and restore safety to our American streets. Under President Trump's law and order agenda, the murder rate has actually dropped to its lowest rate in 125 years. Thanks to no tax on overtime that Lisa was referring to in the working families tax cuts, officers have more money to support their families. And this week, this week, we're going to vote on more common sense legislation to empower law enforcement and defend the police, not defund them. To all the men and women who wear the uniform every day, who work long hours away from your families, who put your lives on the line for our safety, I think all of us say thank you. One week will never be enough to honor your bravery, sacrifice, and your service. And with that, I turn it over to our great leader, Steve Scalise. Thank you, Whip. You know, every week we pay tribute to our men and women in uniform, our law enforcement officers who keep our community safe. But this week is a special week where we all come together as Police Week to pay tribute to especially those law enforcement officers who paid the ultimate price, over 100 last year, that were killed in the line of duty protecting our communities. And Sheriff Eazell said it so eloquently. And last night we had a wonderful tribute on the Capitol steps that the Speaker led, where we had not only a large number of members of Congress, but we had some family members, families whose loved ones were lost as law enforcement officers. And it was tear-jerking to hear those stories. A young girl who lost her father, and he'll never be there for her again. And she recalled the memories she had of her father. And then, of course, that morning when she heard her mom answering that phone call to find out that her husband had been killed in the line of duty, killed by a repeat offender, as the Whip talked about, happens way too often because the criminal justice system fails all of us in so many ways. But it puts our law enforcement officers at risk, too, which is why we need to make sure we get the policy right. I think a lot of you were in the room just a few weeks ago at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. And we hear about it a lot. I've seen it personally. I would not be alive today if not for the bravery of law enforcement officers. But think about it for everybody who was in the room at the Washington Hilton. We all heard the chaos and nobody really knew what was going on. You knew there was a shooter. You heard the calls. You didn't know if he got in, but he didn't get into the room. And why did he not get into the room? He got through armed and his intention was to come in and kill the president of the United States and frankly kill everybody else he could that was in that room. But he never got there because law enforcement went to the danger. You saw them doing it right in real time. They ran to the danger when everybody else was running for cover to protect themselves. It was the law enforcement officers that risked their lives. The Secret Service agent that jumped in front of his gun and took the shot. Luckily he had a bulletproof vest and he's alive today and recovering. But he was willing to risk his own life so that we could all be safe. And that happens every day. It takes a special kind of person to answer that call. And thank God they do. And so that's why we celebrate them every day but especially this week. We really pause to remember those who gave their life protecting our communities. We're bringing a number of bills to the floor this week in remembrance of law enforcement week to try to help give more tools to our police officers across the country. We're also bringing a really important resolution by Zach Nunn to pay tribute to law enforcement. Thank them for what they do and also to stand up against these crazy ideas like defund the police. It's still going on today. You know you saw a major shutdown finally ended two weeks ago. The Department of Homeland Security all over the idea that Democrats still want to defund police. You know whether it's federal law enforcement, local law enforcement, state law enforcement. The titles of the law enforcement officers can change but the Democrat mantra is the same. They want to defund them at every level and we will not let it happen. We won't. We're going to always back the blue. It's a shame everybody does it but we will and then you're going to see that continue to play out this week on the House floor in actual votes and we'll be watching those votes closely. Really really appreciate what our men and women in law enforcement do every day to keep our communities safe. God bless them. God bless their families. Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson. Thank you Mr. Leader and WIP, Conference Chair and Sheriff Ezell and thank you for sharing your long record of law enforcement family legacy for you. That's a great sacrifice and service to the country. Let me start with just a little sad news we received last few days. We lost a former colleague Bill Posey, Congressman Posey of Florida and I just want to say a quick word that he was a genuinely good man and a faithful friend and we were better for having served with him and our prayers go out to his family. His wife Katie who is his high school sweetheart and their children and grandchildren and it was a great loss he retired last cycle because he wanted to go home and spend more time with his family and now in hindsight I'm really glad he got the opportunity to do that so we'll miss him. It's been mentioned we're talking a lot about National Police Week. We do it every year and you can't do it enough because this is something we owe to those who walked that thin blue line as was discussed this morning and here on Capitol Hill and in communities around the country Americans are honoring the courage and the dedication and the sacrifice of law enforcement officers and they well deserve that. Sadly we'll mourn the men and women who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of our neighbors and we owe our law enforcement officers everything because they sacrifice everything to stand guard against evil and protect all these communities around our great country. We when law enforcement officers put on their uniform and they lace up their boots every morning they just don't have a guarantee that they're going to return after that last shift. It's very real. The risk is real and we've heard some of the stories this morning. We heard many last night. It's a story that too many American families know and their stories come with a reminder of the danger that these men and women face every single day. My own life I know it the sacrifice as well. I came from a first responder family and my dad was severely disabled in the line of duty back in 1984 burned 80 percent of his body as a firefighter and lived for 32 years with a severe disability from that event and so it's the whole family that sacrifices when when a man or a woman puts on a badge puts on that helmet and goes into service so we don't take it lightly. This year we're going to add 111 names to the National Law Enforcement Memorial ensuring that their sacrifices are never forgotten and we were there this morning sheriff and I and some other former law enforcement members who are now serving in Congress. We laid wreaths there. We had a little ceremony as we do every year and I was reminded of the really the staggering statistics and this is not well known but the the folks who who maintain and keep the law enforcement memorial there when they built that memorial I know you've all seen it I'm sure it has all the names on it it was it was erected in 1991 and they thought they would have enough space on all the stones to last 100 years. I'm very sad to tell you that they've had to add new stones now to a second level of the memorial because we we exceeded the space for the names in just that number of years. There's over 24,700 officers who memorialize there and as I mentioned we had 111 for this year alone and it's just something that we have to keep in mind all the time. You know one law enforcement death is too many that we've received welcome news this year okay and this is one bright spot the the amount of law enforcement deaths in the line of duty dropped 25 percent from 2024 to 2025 and that's the lowest number of law enforcement line of duty deaths since 1943. So we're very thankful for that and it matters who's in charge I mean elections have consequences and if you have elected officials legislatures a congress that supports those in law enforcement then it assists with these statistics that's an objective fact and it's a direct correlation to public policy. Republicans are going to continue to pursue legislation that makes officers safer and we'll also continue to advance transformational policies like no tax on overtime as you heard which tens of thousands of law enforcement officers and their families have already benefited from and they're telling us about it when we go home and we're delighted to have delivered for them that's what republican policies do. Now let me talk about a couple quick issues here and I'll take a few questions the DHS funding issue was a has been a big deal around here as you know before republicans returned to work in our districts last week we ended the the majority of the shameful record long democrat department of homeland security shutdown and I'm happy to report that we are right on schedule to finish the process and get our reconciliation bill to the president's desk by the June 1 deadline. We will fully fund both border security and immigration enforcement for the balance of President Trump's term and we're going to do this for two reasons number one obviously maintaining border security and deporting dangerous criminal illegal aliens is the baseline that the American people demand and deserve they told us that in the last election cycle and they say it all the time every day since. We do not have a country if we do not have borders that's just the bottom line. I'm grateful every day that America once again has a president who understands that. The second reason is it's very sad and shocking fact and it's it's almost unbelievable to say this but there are there's not a single democrat in congress house or senate who believes that border security and immigration enforcement should exist they do not believe that we should fund those at the federal level. It's a stunning statement but it is true and it's proven time and time again by their word and by their votes they prove to you what they're about. I think everybody needs to keep that in mind. Look at the California's governor's race right now. I mean what a spectacle nearly all the democrats including a former house democrat and a Biden cabinet secretary proudly said yes when they were asked the simple question if they support providing health care to illegal aliens. We're supposed to believe this is a serious political party right now. I mean democrats are chomping at the bit to regain power and reopen our borders and allow violent criminal illegal aliens to continue to roam our streets. These are facts this is not political talking points this is what they are and what they're about and we're not going to let them do that. So we're eager to quickly finish this reconciliation process and get this bill to the president's desk. Now of course we have to mention the redistricting news that's the big headline of course over the last couple weeks and it's it's been it's been there's some seismic developments let's put it that way. In the Calais case at the U.S. Supreme Court the court restored a simple but profound truth. Yes the constitution protects every American equally and that's a very important concept for us to maintain. This is another fact democrats spent decades trying to engineer electoral maps that divided Americans and this decision from the Supreme Court hopefully ends that terrible practice once and for all. We find it amusing that democrats are suddenly concerned about fair congressional representation they say and and I challenge those democrats to raise those concerns with the republican congressmen from Massachusetts, Connecticut or Rhode Island. They'll have a hard time doing that of course because democrats have gerrymandered republicans completely out of those states and in Virginia last week the Virginia Supreme Court of course affirmed what republicans believed from the very beginning we fought hard to win that ballot initiative and we invested there but ultimately we knew there was a hastily drawn gerrymander that was unconstitutional it was a power grab and thankfully the courts restoring and upholding the rule of law did the right thing there. Democrats by the way put all their chips in the middle on that one you saw it and they burned through countless goodwill with the people of the state of Virginia and elsewhere democrats nationwide they spent more than 65 million dollars and they they even had Barack Obama cutting ads and robocalls and it wasn't enough because it was such a crazy overreach and it was all in pursuit of an unconstitutional scheme to dilute the power of republicans of Virginia and fortunately the plan failed spectacularly they got a lot to answer for their press conferences we got to be interesting look this decision doesn't change our posture for one minute republicans are laser focused we don't look to the right or the left we charge straight forward election day is less than six months out and we're going to continue advancing policies that make America safer and more prosperous while highlighting the stark contrast between our two parties and you heard it here this morning this election is about one simple thing it's a contrast between common sense represented by the republican party and crazy and democrats have given us yet another great example this last week that when they suggested disbanding the entire supreme court in Virginia and making the uh the highest age that where you can serve on the bench of the state supreme court 54 i mean it's a joke instead of just taking their medicine and acknowledging defeat they've actually become arsonists i mean institutional arsonists and remember this is the party that breathlessly tells you but they are for small d democracy it is the opposite of that republicans are for common sense democrats are for crazy and it's as simple as that and we're going to continue reminding the american people of this every single day so with that i'll take a couple questions yes ma'am i don't know the context in which he made that comment but i can tell you the president thinks about americans financial situations i talk to him on average twice a day sometimes three or four times a day and we talk about it constantly he's laser focused on trying to resolve the conflict in iran because if we get the straight of hormuz when we get the straight of hormuz reopened that will alleviate a lot of pressure with gas prices and other things in the economy now we've done everything the republican party under president trump's leadership have done everything that we possibly can to reverse the maddening inflation of the biden years that was at 40 year highs and all the the gross misspending over the last several years to get the economy back humming again and we've done that in the big beautiful building working families tax cut infused with pro-growth policies we put in incentives for job creators and entrepreneurs and risk takers small business owners to expand and add more jobs to increase wages those things are beginning to happen you you we put into into place the lowest taxes the biggest tax cut in american history to help out hard-working american families the average american household has over ten thousand dollars more in their pocket because of the policies that we passed we put into the bill legislation to allow for american energy dominance again to to continue with our permitting reforms to get all these things going and humming again and the conflict with iran has put a little damper on that now as soon as that's resolved i agree with the treasury secretary i agree with the president you're going to have a an alleviation of the pain of the pump and you're going to have prices come down overall and we're look very much looking forward to that as you know other economic indicators are going very very well the jobs numbers unemployment numbers on the stock market all these other factors so as soon as we get gas prices back under control we alleviate that pain i can tell you the president is laser focused on it he spends a large part of every day working to resolve this right now he's in china the president has laid down a marker that was overdue and very important the american people are not going to be taken advantage of anymore by adversaries or allies and he's demonstrated that resolve and that principle day after day and he's negotiated much better trade agreements and much more fair policies for us when he says america first he doesn't mean america alone obviously he means that we put the interest of america first and i'm going to tell you that's not a selfish proposition when we do that it's good for our citizens it's good for this country and every freedom loving person around the world so our prayers are with him and he has a good visit with xi and china they come come forward with some favorable policies and things that will help us out and i believe he will and we'll see how that develops yet thank you speaker also speaking of the economic front gas prices are up inflation's up americans having some financial hardships across the country that being said is right now the right time for congress to be prioritizing a billion dollars for security apparatus in the white house including 220 million dollars for the east wing ballroom given the fact that president trump had said it would be paid for by private donations yeah i look that's a i think that's a gross misstatement of what's going on here um in the bill and by the way it's in in a draft form right now as you know the second reconciliation bill sadly we have to fund immigration enforcement and border on our own as a republican party because remember democrats want to give zero dollars to it the secret service put in an urgent request for additional security measures it's not for the ballroom it's for security measures now we don't know what the final bill is going to be that we get they got to go through three more steps they're going through the birdbath the parliamentarian review of the bill they got to go through two markups and committees and then ultimately action on the house floor so we're not going to prejudge that product we're waiting for it to come from the senate but i'll say that i will say this that in in one section of the bill it addresses security measures it's very specifically defined on what those security requests are from the secret service and i will say this for many of you that were in the ballroom just a few weeks ago and sat through and observed the third failed assassination attempt of a president just in a short number of years here um this there's an urgent need for increased security measures i mean that is that is an objective fact and it should be something that's bipartisan it there the ballroom is totally privately funded the president has dedicated like 400 million dollars for that project and by the way it's going to be a donation to the country you're aware the ballroom will be there long after he leaves and he'll only get a few months of its use so he's doing it for the country but it's what's beneath the ballroom that is in my view far more important and we've needed some of these security measures for a long time and um that's what this is all about so there's a false narrative out there about it i don't again i'm i'm not going to prejudge the product we get from the senate but i certainly understand what the secure the secret services requests are they have a almost impossible job right now and they need that extra funding yes sir just to build off that question i mean the trump administration has repeatedly argued for the ballroom itself is part of the security apparatus so should the final bill explicitly rule out funding for the ballroom itself i mean do you think that would smooth over some of what you say is this false narrative i look again i don't have the pen in the senate they're writing the bill we'll see what we get but i i think the president has been abundantly clear he is he is excited about building a ballroom with private funding not taxpayer funding but the secret service says that as we enhance the white house grounds and and the modernization there that obviously we have to think differently about security we live in a very dangerous time and there are new and increasing threats that we have never faced before and so congress has a role in funding that and we'll have to see how it all works out is there one of the things that is not in my purview is the department of justice okay and and how they evaluate cases and resolution of all that so i i don't know i haven't thought about that or read into it i got enough to say grace over every day okay so um go ask the thank you thank you all so much and let's celebrate police week on louisiana really quickly thousands of ballots have been distributed or even cast in two of your primaries that governor landry now says will be discarded is that not an election integrity concern listen what the ultimate election integrity concern is to ensure that you don't have an election on an unconstitutional map and when the highest court in the land says your map is unconstitutional you cannot proceed you can't have an election on a non-constitutional map that's why not just louisiana but other states have have reviewed their maps under this new ruling the clarification of the court to make sure that we do this right so it it's it's not our our job that the legislature and the governor are figuring out how to handle all those mechanics but ultimately the big question is we're going to have a constitutional election and when the you have to follow suit and that's what's happening in louisiana thank you